Today is my anniversary (I’m overlooking the fact that Phil stole first from me ON MY ANNIVERSARY). So in lieu of a long post on baseball, I’ll share what I wrote on Facebook before ushering you into the things that you came here to see. It is fitting that we will celebrate by watching my oldest son pitch in a baseball game tonight. We’ve spent many anniversaries on or around a baseball diamond, and I can’t say I mind:
“Today marks 20 years married to Erin! Two decades of saying ‘I do’ to another each day – committing to serve one another, forgive one another, celebrate one another, and empower one another. Marriage is meant to be a glorious combination of sacrifice and sanctity – of finding out that as you serve one another in love you become whole – both individually and communally. Erin and I have become more of who God created us to be through these past 20 years of being married to each other, and that is perhaps the best gift of all. And since we didn’t get each other any presents, it might the only one we get. And that will be alright with me.”
EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
RS |
RA |
| Peshastin Pears |
25 |
11 |
.685 |
— |
159.3 |
107.9 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
25 |
12 |
.664 |
0.6 |
160.3 |
114.1 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
24 |
13 |
.660 |
0.8 |
204.2 |
142.9 |
| Haviland Dragons |
24 |
13 |
.656 |
0.9 |
170.4 |
127.5 |
| D.C. Balk |
21 |
9 |
.687 |
1.1 |
157.4 |
106.8 |
| Kaline Drive |
23 |
14 |
.613 |
2.5 |
167.0 |
134.4 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
19 |
17 |
.533 |
5.5 |
187.6 |
175.4 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
15 |
15 |
.502 |
6.6 |
161.9 |
161.5 |
| Cottage Cheese |
18 |
18 |
.498 |
6.7 |
204.6 |
212.6 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
15 |
18 |
.459 |
8 |
150.7 |
163.0 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
15 |
18 |
.447 |
8.4 |
130.9 |
153.7 |
Peshastin: W, 3-0; 38PA, 12.7IP
| AVG: 0.156 |
OBP: 0.289 |
SLG: 0.344 |
OPS: 0.633 |
I’ll forgive Phil for not knowing today was my 20th anniversary, because I don’t think he would have so rudely taken over first place on this exact day, but perhaps waited until tomorrow, had he known. Instead, his pitchers went out and tossed over 12 innings while surrendering only 1 run – a home run given up by Luis Patino. Freddy Peralta led the way going 7 innings and giving up only 1 hit. It’s a good thing the pitching was so good, because the hitting was so bad. Take out Mitch Haniger’s 2 for 4 with 2 home runs night, and you have a team that batted .107 (3 for 28 with 3 singles). Welcome back to first place, Peshastin!
Flint Hill: “W,” 3-7; 40PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.237 |
OBP: 0.275 |
SLG: 0.395 |
OPS: 0.670 |
Yesterday I told Haviland management, who in his retirement has taken up math tutoring of my high school son, that if there was any day where he could pass me in the standings it would be today. Though it wasn’t Haviland who did the passing, I was correct in my assertion. The main reason was that the rainout in Colorado two days ago pushed my SP back a day, and therefore yesterday I accrued the first replacement innings I have had this season. Those will disappear today as three starters are slated to pitch, and hopefully they will do much better. Teoscar Hernandez went 3 for 4 (the only Tornado with more than one hit ) and Paul Goldschmidt chipped in a HR.
Old Detroit: “L,” 4-2; 41PA, 15.3IP
| AVG: 0.179 |
OBP: 0.220 |
SLG: 0.333 |
OPS: 0.553 |
THe Wolverines delivered 15 innings worth of very good pitching, and had it not been for Mitch Haniger, it would have been even better (Haniger hit both of his HRs off of Buehler last night). Marcu Stroman proved to everyone that as long as you pitch well, it doesn’t matter which rodent your teammates are fighting over in the dugout (6.1 innings and 1 earned run). The hitters, however, continued to slumber. The Wolverines led the league in April with over 6 runs scored per game. This month they are barely scoring 4 a game. Is it due to their hitting coach? Or due to their owners commitment to ease conflict wherever it may exist? There is certainly conflict to be resolved somewhere in the clubhouse if the hitters are going to start turning their offensive stats around.
Haviland: L, 4-10; 45PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.286 |
OBP: 0.333 |
SLG: 0.405 |
OPS: 0.738 |
Pablo Lopez ruined a pretty good hitting day for the Dragons. His 6 runs given up in 4.3 innings was enough to sink the Dragon’s hopes for climbing over anyone in the standings. Joc (Pederson), Jake (Cronenworth) and JT (Realmuto) did some great work at the plate, going 5 for 12 with 2 doubles. And Gary Sanchez added in a HR. But it wasn’t enough, and the Dragons dropped two spots to 4th place, now .8 games behind the leading Pears.
DC: “W,” 5-5; 35PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.226 |
OBP: 0.314 |
SLG: 0.452 |
OPS: 0.766 |
The Balk lost .3 games on the leading Pear due to the players refusing to do anything more than score as many runs as their pitchers allowed. That is certainly an expression of good teamwork, not wanting to outshine the others, but instead working together to accomplish the goal. But the goal in the EFL is to win, not to tie. Dylan Cease did not do his part to win, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings, though that is not a horrible line. And several hitters did their part to add some value, but none as much as Asdrubal Cabrera, who collected 4 of the Balk’s 7 total hits. Bryce Harper also added in a home run.
Kaline: W, 9-4; 53PA, 20.9IP
| AVG: 0.347 |
OBP: 0.396 |
SLG: 0.612 |
OPS: 1.008 |
The Drive produced some excellent volume yesterday and not only was their excellent volume, but the quality of the volume was excellent – on both the mound and in the batter’s box. With one more walk the team would have had an Edgar Martinez Day over 53 plate appearances! 6 hitters collected multiple hits, including three homes run – one each from Aaron Judge, Yuli Gurriel and Jesse Winker. 19.3 innings were thrown by starters, who surrendered a mere 3 runs! John Means followed up his no-hitter with 6 innings of scoreless baseball, though he did give up 6 hits. The Drive’s main issue was so many of those great innings and ABs went to surplus storage, so though they didn’t drop in the standings, they also didn’t make any headway.
Portland: W, 6-3; 55PA, 13IP
| AVG: 0.277 |
OBP: 0.364 |
SLG: 0.468 |
OPS: 0.832 |
Not quite as good as the Drive day, but pretty close. Four of the Rosebud hitters collected multiple hits, led by Nick Senzel (3 for 4 with 3 singles) and Travis Shaw (2 for 4 with 2 doubles). Three pitchers combined for that good line, led by Bryse Wilson who threw 6 innings and gave up 2 runs. Like the Drive, the Rosebuds are attempting to separate themselves from the lower half of the league, and a few more similar days will do just that.
Canberra: W, 8-4; 33PA, 4IP
| AVG: 0.321 |
OBP: 0.394 |
SLG: 0.679 |
OPS: 1.073 |
The lower half of the standings are putting on a great show today. Canberra didn’t produce as much volume as Kaline and Portland, but they did produce a better OPS (1.073). That OPS was due mostly to three hitters – Vladito, David Dahl and Kyle Tucker. Together, they went 7 for 11 with 3 home runs. Though only relievers showed up on the mound, they did an excellent job, giving up 0 runs. If an when someone other than the Mets take over first place in the NL East, we could see a jump in the standings from the Roos who have quite a but of stored innings pitched and ABs in surplus – and most of those are good numbers.
Cottage: W(2), L(-1), 12-2; 35PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.393 |
OBP: 0.514 |
SLG: 0.536 |
OPS: 1.050 |
It may be difficult for a bystander to understand why the teams in the bottom half of the standings are there after the days they had yesterday – especially compared to the days of those ahead of them. The Cheese continued the trend of excellence with an EMD of their own. Trea Turner, Marcus Semien and Jeff McNeil combined to go 7 for 11 with one home run (Turner). Shohei Ohtani is responsible for that pitching line, while also collecting a single on the day. The Cheese climbed .7 games closer to first.
Pittsburgh: W, 5-0; 33PA, 12IP
| AVG: 0.172 |
OBP: 0.273 |
SLG: 0.414 |
OPS: 0.687 |
The Alleghenys sent two starting pitchers to the mound, and they were both excellent. And, voila! They are no longer in last place. Nathan Eovaldi and Logan Webb combined for those excellent pitching numbers. The hitters only collected 5 hits, but 3 of them were for extra bases – one double (Jorge Soler) and two home runs (Soler and Max Muncy).
Bellingham: L, 5-12; 39PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.270 |
OBP: 0.308 |
SLG: 0.514 |
OPS: 0.821 |
Let’s focus on the positives here: every batter but two got at least one hit on the day. Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Tim Anderson led the way combining for 4 hits in 9ABs, including a home run from Acuna. Ozuna also added in his own home run, and Kevin Newman added a triple. But the pitching imploded a little, mostly due to AJ Minter not recording an out and giving up 3 runs. The Cascades, for now, are the tallest franchise to be stuck at the bottom. But you can’t keep mountain ranges down for long, I imagine.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
25 |
12 |
.664 |
— |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
24 |
13 |
.660 |
0.2 |
| Boston Red Sox |
22 |
15 |
.595 |
2.6 |
| New York Yankees |
19 |
16 |
.543 |
4.6 |
| Toronto Blue Jays |
18 |
16 |
.529 |
5.1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays |
19 |
18 |
.514 |
5.6 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
16 |
20 |
.444 |
8.1 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| D.C. Balk |
21 |
9 |
.687 |
— |
| New York Mets |
17 |
13 |
.567 |
3.6 |
| Philadelphia Phillies |
19 |
17 |
.528 |
4.6 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
15 |
15 |
.502 |
5.6 |
| Atlanta Braves |
17 |
18 |
.486 |
6.1 |
| Miami Marlins |
15 |
20 |
.429 |
8.1 |
| Washington Nationals |
13 |
18 |
.419 |
8.1 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Chicago White Sox |
20 |
13 |
.606 |
— |
| Cleveland Indians |
19 |
14 |
.576 |
1 |
| Kansas City Royals |
16 |
18 |
.471 |
4.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
15 |
18 |
.459 |
4.9 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
15 |
18 |
.447 |
5.3 |
| Minnesota Twins |
12 |
21 |
.364 |
8 |
| Detroit Tigers |
11 |
24 |
.314 |
10 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| St. Louis Cardinals |
22 |
14 |
.611 |
— |
| Milwaukee Brewers |
19 |
17 |
.528 |
3 |
| Cottage Cheese |
18 |
18 |
.498 |
4.1 |
| Chicago Cubs |
17 |
18 |
.486 |
4.5 |
| Cincinnati Reds |
16 |
17 |
.485 |
4.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
15 |
20 |
.429 |
6.5 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Haviland Dragons |
24 |
13 |
.656 |
— |
| Kaline Drive |
23 |
14 |
.613 |
1.6 |
| Oakland A’s |
22 |
15 |
.595 |
2.3 |
| Houston Astros |
19 |
17 |
.528 |
4.8 |
| Seattle Mariners |
18 |
18 |
.500 |
5.8 |
| Texas Rangers |
18 |
20 |
.474 |
6.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
16 |
19 |
.457 |
7.3 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Peshastin Pears |
25 |
11 |
.685 |
— |
| San Francisco Giants |
22 |
14 |
.611 |
2.7 |
| San Diego Padres |
20 |
16 |
.556 |
4.7 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
19 |
17 |
.533 |
5.5 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
19 |
17 |
.528 |
5.7 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks |
17 |
19 |
.472 |
7.7 |
| Colorado Rockies |
12 |
23 |
.343 |
12.2 |
